CC QB Pereira grows into role
LAWRENCE — As Chuck Adamopoulos sat in his office singing the praises of quarterback Ayden Pereira, the Central Catholic coach stopped for a moment to try and keep his player from getting a big head. “I don’t like saying nice things about you,” Adamopoulos joked.
More and more, though, it’s becoming impossible to watch Pereira and do anything but send compliments the junior’s way. Pereira is simply a playmaker and can beat opponents either throwing or running. As he enters the Fall II season, Pereira is poised to build upon a sensational sophomore year in which he led the Raiders to a 9-2 record and spot in the Division 1 North final.
And even though Adamopoulos has had many quality quarterbacks over the years, he said Pereira compares favorably with those who came before him.
“He’s right at the top of the list with our best guys,” Adamopoulos said.
It did not take long for Pereira to make an impact in 2019. He was a relative unknown coming into the season, but that all changed in the season opener when Pereira and Central opened against a bonafide state power in Springfield Central. In his first varsity start, all Pereira did was complete 14of-18 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 86 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a 5242 Raiders win.
“I honestly didn’t want it any other way,” Pereira said. “I want to play the best teams, and that just happened to be our first game. I was nervous leading up to it, but once I came here for pregame, all the nerves went out of the way. Once we got out there, the first drive it was two plays and we scored.
It didn’t feel any different. I just felt relaxed. It gave me a lot of confidence the rest of the year just to start off that way.”
For the season, Pereira completed 103 of 184 passes for 1,704 yards and 22 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He also rushed for 415 yards and 11 touchdowns on 92 carries. Although an injury limited him in that Div. 1 North final loss to St. John’s Prep, Pereira staked his claim as one of the top quarterbacks in the state.
According to Adampooulos, Pereira’s intangibles are as good as his physical traits, and something the coach noticed before the quarterback even made it to varsity.
“Right off the bat it jumped out how poised he was for a freshman. Very calm,” Adamopoulos said. “Grasped the offense quickly, and (he was) a good confident, not like an obnoxious, cocky confident, but a good confident. We didn’t have to rush him up that year. It gave him a chance to develop, and we thought of bringing him up during the season, but we left him where he was. The next year, he became the man. But he really was very poised for a freshman.”
The cerebral part of the game is something Pereira embraces.
“I enjoy that. Honestly, for football and the quarterback position, at least 50 percent of it is mental,” Pereira said. “It’s mental as much as it is physical. I just know it’s very important because there is a lot that goes on that you wouldn’t know unless you played the position, or the eye can’t really see. You’ve just got to know what you’re looking at. It’s very important. It’s fun to keep learning and learning new things. It’s great.”
Now up to 6 feet tall and 190 pounds, Pereira reports that he gained 30 pounds in the offseason. To stay fresh in the time off, Pereira lifted and sharpened his technique with M2 Quarterback Academy. Right now, Pereira has scholarship offers from Colorado State and Marshall. He knows these games are critical for his recruitment.
“A lot of it’s going to depend on how I do this year,” Pereira said. “It’s another reason I’m happy we’re playing.”
Although Pereira won’t be able to compete for a state title for Fall II, he still has motivation as Central tries for a Merrimack Valley Conference crown.
“Obviously we go in trying to go undefeated,” he said. “It’s the little things because there is no (state) championship. The goal is to go undefeated.”
If that comes to pass, Adamopoulos will have no issue saying nice things about his quarterback.